Activist Building Support For Philadelphia Bike-Sharing Program

"The idea that Philadelphia, with its oppressive traffic, reckless drivers, rampant thieves, vandals and other assorted miscreants, would behave honorably enough to sustain such a system may seem dubious. Too kind? All right. An absurd, unthinkable, are-you-kidding bad joke."

"But cities with problems as bad as Philadelphia's have pulled it off, Meddin says."

"In most cases, theft is averted by the need for a credit card to get into the system, plus the bicycles contain GPS devices to track where and by whom they have been taken. They are designed so that their parts are unique and can't be easily jerry-rigged onto mainstream models. And, particularly in cities with large-scale programs, would-be thieves have little incentive to steal a bike because they are plentiful and virtually free to use."